Avs get past Rangers for 9th straight win
Nathan MacKinnon, Erik Johnson and Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist each, Jonathan Bernier made 27 saves and the Colorado Avalanche beat the New York Rangers 3-1 on Saturday for their ninth straight win.
The Avalanche have won eight straight at home and haven’t lost since Arizona beat them Dec. 27. Colorado has outscored its opponents 37-15 in its past nine games and has not trailed during the winning streak, which has moved the team into playoff position.
“We can’t get comfortable,” MacKinnon said. “That is why we are fighting every night because we need these points. It’s so tight, the division is so tight.”
Colorado has won nine in a row for the first time since 2000, the last season in which it won the Stanley Cup.
Coyotes 5, Blues 2: Christian Dvorak scored twice and Antti Raanta made 25 saves to help visiting Arizona, the team with the NHL’s worst record, end its 12-game losing streak against St. Louis. The skid was tied for the longest current run of its kind in the NHL; Chicago has won 12 in a row over Buffalo. Zac Rinaldo, Brendan Perlini and Christian Fischer also scored for Arizona. The Coyotes scored four times in the opening 13:15.
Oilers 5, Canucks 2: Jesse Puljujarvi had a goal and two assists, Patrick Maroon scored twice and host Edmonton had a strong showing in its return from a weeklong break. Jujhar Khaira and Leon Draisaitl also scored for the Oilers, who have won three in a row. Daniel Sedin and Brandon Sutter had the goals for the Canucks, who won their previous two games.
Islanders 7, Blackhawks 3: Ryan Pulock had a goal and four assists and Anthony Beauvillier scored two power-play goals for New York. Brock Nelson had a goal and two assists and John Tavares added a goal and an assist as New York won in Chicago for the first time since 2009.
Bruins 4, Canadiens 1: David Pastrnak scored twice and set up a goal as visiting Boston got its third win in eight days over Montreal. Torey Krug had a goal and two assists and Riley Nash had an empty-netter for Boston, which is 12-0-4 in its past 16.
Jets 2, Flames 1: Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler scored in the shootout and visiting Winnipeg snapped Calgary’s seven-game winning streak. Mathieu Perreault scored in regulation for the Jets, who improved to 7-2-1 in their past 10. TJ Brodie scored for Calgary. Hurricanes 3, Red Wings 1: Elias Lindholm’s second goal of the game broke a third-period tie and Carolina went on to win in Detroit. Lindholm made the most of an increased role, filling in for leading scorer Sebastian Aho in the team’s first game without him this season.
Flyers 3, Devils 1: Travis Konecny had a goal and an assist, Michal Neuvirth made 28 saves and host Philadelphia scored all of its goals in the first. Ivan Provorov and Valtteri Filppula tallied goals for the Flyers.
Stars 7, Sabres 1: Mattias Janmark had two goals and an assist, and Esa Lindell added a goal and two assists for visiting Dallas. Jamie Benn and Radek Faksa each had a goal and an assist. Remi Elle also scored for the Stars. Buffalo lost for the seventh time in eight games and was booed off the ice after the second and third periods in their most lopsided loss of the season.
Maple Leafs 4, Senators 3: Connor Carrick snapped a tie midway through the third and visiting Toronto rallied with three goals in the final period. The win stopped a four-game losing streak for the Maple Leafs, who also got third-period goals from Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
Predators 4, Panthers 3: P.K. Subban scored to cap a three-goal second period for Nashville, which beat visiting Florida for its fifth straight win. Kevin Fiala scored two goals, and Nick Bonino had a goal and two assists for his first multi-point game since joining Nashville as a free agent last summer. Wild 5, Lightning 2: Zach Parise scored his first of the season as Minnesota beat Tampa Bay. Jared Spurgeon, Nate Prosser, Marcus Foligno and Jason Zucker also scored for host Minnesota.